120 kilometres. Two hours in clear traffic. An expressway that is, by Indian standards, exceptional. And a destination — the wine country around Nashik, the hill stations around Lonavala, the resorts in Khandala, or Pune itself — that draws Mumbai’s professional class and ultra-wealthy alike throughout the year.
The vehicle that covers this route sets the tone for the weekend.
Here is what the best version of this journey actually looks like.
The Vehicle Options
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway rewards vehicles that are comfortable at sustained highway speeds — the expressway’s quality makes this one of the few Indian drives where the difference between a good suspension and an exceptional one is genuinely felt over two hours.
For the drive as experience — the weekend away where the journey is part of the event — the Rolls-Royce Ghost and Cullinan are the primary choices. The Cullinan’s higher seating position and four-wheel drive comfort on the mountain ghat sections before and after Lonavala are practical advantages that the Ghost’s lower profile does not provide.
For the corporate visit to Pune — meetings, a return the same day — the Mercedes S-Class or BMW 7 Series provides the rear cabin working environment at a price point that does not require justification for a single business trip.
For the drive that is specifically an experience — a couple, a sports car, the expressway — the Porsche Panamera, the Range Rover Sport, or an AMG Mercedes provides a different kind of engagement with the same route.
The Lonavala Stop
The 90-minute point of the Mumbai-Pune drive — Lonavala — is where the drive changes character.
The expressway gives way to ghats. The elevation increases. The Mumbai heat drops. And for those who have chosen a vehicle without sufficient suspension travel, the ghat sections make the decision obvious.
Properties in Khandala and Lonavala that cater to Mumbai weekenders at this level — private estate stays, boutique properties in the hills — require vehicle access up approach roads that the Cullinan handles with contemptuous ease and the lower-slung saloons negotiate with more drama.
What to Ask for
The overnight programme: If the drive is for a weekend at a resort, ask the operator about the vehicle remaining overnight rather than the driver returning to Mumbai and redeploying the following day. A vehicle that stays with the party eliminates the Sunday anxiety about the return timing.
Driver familiarity with the route: The Pune expressway has specific lane discipline, specific toll plaza protocols, and specific junction behaviour that drivers who do not use it regularly manage with less fluency than those who do.
At Hype Luxury, our Mumbai-Pune programme includes chauffeurs who know the route, vehicles that are appropriate for the terrain, and the option of overnight stays with the vehicle retained.
Because the drive is the beginning.
It should feel that way.
120 kilometres between two cities. Two hours that set the tone for everything that follows.
